The present invention relates to a knitting machine for producing mesh products. More particularly it relates to such a knitting machine which has needles and plate members (sinkers) arranged in a needle carrier alternately near to one another and controllable by separate control curves so that the plate members with their sinking edges during the withdrawing movement of the associated needles at least partially longitudinally move in an opposite direction.
It is known to facilitate the sinking process during knitting of mesh products by an opposite movement of the needles and plate members, in that the control curves for the needles and plate members can be maintained less steep and the machine can be operated faster without needle or thread breakage danger. It has been shown that after the elimination of a breakage danger for the needles in fast running machines, other problems come to the surface and endanger an unobjectionable mesh formation. These problems are first of all caused by an opposite friction of the tools cooperating with one another for handling the threads or yarns. It has been conventional, for the purpose of obtaining a relatively fine needle pitch, to arrange the needles and the plate members in pairs together in the guide grooves of a needle carrier. Thereby a separate plate carrier can be dispensed with and the plate control cam element is integrated in the needle control cam element. However, the plates and/or needles because of the oppositely running control curves with relatively great cam dimensions, are rather long and produced with respectively great mass. The opposite contact surfaces of the plate member and the needle are great and an opposite support for the needles and plate members must be forcably performed so that high friction forces take place on the tools which move relative to one another. Thereby the advantage obtained by the relative movement of the needles and the plate members is practically nullified.